Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-01-25

which hire their rooms from month 10
month be taken to he between lJO 900 and
115, 900, then over One-tenth of these fam
lilies have been turned out of their homes
during the year. The records of the eleven
district courts prove it. Four district
courts alone will show that they have
issued some 10000 dispossess summCnses,
each one OF which was a notice to family
to pay up or go.
To say that there were some 90, 600 FAM
lilies driven out of their homes last year
carries only part of the meaning. The
average number of persons in those poor
families is greater than in rich orwell to
do families. 1t is fair estimate to say
that in those 1000 families there were
10000 men, women and children, most
of whom were unable to earn a sufficient
living. The item Of rent was a great one
with them, out of proportion to what il is
TO a man with a moderate income. A
labOrer earning $ day, or S26 month,
has to pay from So so to $40 rent. or over
a third of his incNme, while "a working
man who ge.s S. 80 a day will not pay
over SlS a month rent. With u majority
Of those 20, coo families the rent was more
than they could bear and they suCcumbed.
The head Of the family may have been
sick. on n spree or out of work. The
family could ecunomize in food, fuel and
clothing, but they lived in the cheapest
tenements already and the rent forced
them ont. 1t is a puzzle where they 50.
UNDER THE LAW.
The diSpOSSeSS proceedings in the courts
do not by any means give the full number
Of families who are forced from their
homes by various reasons. Under the law
the landlord must give notice To their ten
ants first, and thousands Of tenants, know
ing that to disregard the notice will only
bring fOrCible eviction, sell or cast away
their furniture, and wander out into the
city at once. On the money obtained
from the sale of their furniture they may
live while, and then nobody notices how
they are swallowed up.
OF course there is another side to il a
few cases, and there are professional rent
evaders, who take advantages Of the tech
nicalitieS of the law, the leniency of the
justices to the poor and the multitude Of
worthy cases, 10 escape paying rent when
they could if they would When IL tenant
hires from month TO month he can hold
over for another month if not notified to
go five days before the first day of the
next month. Otherwise he can hold on,
and if he rents by the year he can hold on
for another year. Or if he Is behind in his
rent he can make the landlord prove
ownership, previous notice, specific con-
tract and violation of it before he can be
fOrcibly elected. 1t is not easy for the
landlord to do all this if the tenant chooses
to fight.
Notwithstanding the general impression,
drunkenness and ShiftlessneSS in themselves
are not the immediate cause of many evic |
tiUns. \ mans drunkenness may cause
him TO lose his place, and then, without
work, he has no income, but as long as he |
works his wife usually manages TO get
enough Of his pay to pay the rent. Lack
of work and sickness or death in the family |
are the main CAUSES of falling behind in
the rent. The family get So far behind il |
their rent that il is next to impossible tc |
pay up. and they are eyicted, sell all they
can of their furniture. and start over again !
in a new neighborhoOd. If the father gets |
work then and is in good health he may
regain a home. If he doesn't, his family |
breaks up, and he may become a tramp, q
criminal or pauper.
JUSTICES AS PEACEMAKERs.
As a rule. the civil justices try to act as |
peacemakers between the landlord and |
tenant Where the tenant is able to pay
they usually succeed. In all cases they |
give the tenant time, and try TO prevent |
forcible election by the marshals. In not
over quarter Of the cases is it necessary te |
call in the assistance Of a marshal TO gel |
the tenant out. Attached to several of the |
district courts is charitable organization |
In extreme cases the justices and clerks al
rho ppurf chin in Al my the
Several Of the justices talked about theiI |
experiences with eviction cases. They are |
much alike. The following from Justice |
Mccarthy speaks for the other east side |
districts:
There were some 9, 500 dispossess pro !
ceedings i'll the Fifth district court thi. |
year. In not over a third Of them was |
forcible action taken. In the others the |
tenants moved as soon as they saw it was |
inevitable Three-quarters Of the cases !
were tor arrears in rent. The others were |
where the landlord had given the tenant |
notice to leave at the end of the month |
and the tenant had not left Some of the |
cases are professionals. They come up
several times year They would rather |
move than pay rent, even though they are
able to. They get in arrears and hang on |
till the last moment, when they pack W |
and move.
"Most Of the cases are Irishmen and
Jews. Native Americans are rarest and
Germans next. Jews do not always 20 |
en- a summons, but they often fight the |
ase In court, and cause the landlord lot |
n trouble to prove his side. Jews are
good pay, but htigous. Many of them
have picked up good knowledge of the |
law, and conduct their own cases admir- |
ably. l DO not know where the evicted |
tenants go, but probably TO cheaper quar- |
ters. We look after all that we can, and !
often we raise the money among ourselves
20 pay the rent. Sometimes we are im-
posed on, too. New York Sun.